The Toronto Raptors continue to exceed all expectations after what was supposed to be a “down year” in 2020. After winning the NBA Championship in 2019 and losing superstar Kawhi Leonard to the Clippers in the offseason, Toronto quietly faded into the background at the beginning of the regular season. Low and behold, the Raptors are currently on a franchise-record 14-game winning streak and hold the No. 2 seed in the East (39-14 record). The best part of it all? They’re doing all of it without Leonard and don’t seem to have missed a beat since their title run last summer.
How crazy is this winning streak? Let’s dive in:
• In the last 14 games, the Raptors are first in the NBA in three-point shooting (39.9% completion rate).
• Their defense has created an average of 22.4 points per game off turnovers (1st in the league over that span).
• They have had five different players that average more than 17 points per game (Fred VanVleet, Kyle Lowry, Pascal Siakam, Serge Ibaka, Norman Powell) during the streak.
• They have won six of the 14 games with at least one of their top seven rotation players out with an injury.
• The Raptors haven’t lost a game since January 15
The Raptors will go for 15 in a row on Monday night as they host the Minnesota Timberwolves. A win would break the record for the longest streak by a Canadian professional sports team (Calgary Stampeders – 14). There is currently no spread available for this game as of Sunday night (February 9th), but I’d expect Toronto to be healthy double-digit favorites against a Wolves team that hasn’t won a single game since January 9th and basically traded their entire team at last week’s trade deadline. Feel comfortable siding with Toronto Monday night.
